All I Want For Christmas
by TMadison
Summary: Written for the Bachelor & The Butterfly Advent Challenge. Setting: An A/U fic. What Christmas might have been like if Betty didn't take the job in London and Daniel never left MODE?
1. Chapter 1

**All I Want For Christmas**

_Author's Note: This is for Day 1 of the Bachelor & The Butterfly Advent Calendar Challenge. This challenge will be running today through December 25__th__. _

_Setting: An A/U fic. What Christmas might have been like if Betty didn't take the job in London and Daniel never left MODE? _

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**Chapter One**

Daniel sat behind his desk, examining the proofs from yesterday's photo shoot since Wilhelmina had taken off to France for an extended holiday vacation. Her return not expected until after the New Year, leaving Daniel to deal with their already packed schedule alone.

It was times like these that Daniel really missed Betty's excellent organizational skills and her attention for detail. His new assistant, Candace was efficient enough most of the time but could never come close to that of his former assistant /best friend, Betty. In fact, there were many ways in Daniel's life that no one could close to her.

"Knock, knock." There was a knock on his office door. He looked up to see the face he needed to brighten this dreary winter day. "Are you busy?"

"Come on in. You know that I'm never too busy for you." Daniel grinned.

"Good." Betty said cheerily. Her bright red snowman sweater and a pair of jeans, paired with some boots. It even had little bells on it, so that it jingled when she walked. She had a bag in each hand. "I thought that you would probably be hungry. Marc ran this afternoon and he said that you were swamped."

She placed the larger bag down on the floor and the other smaller one on the desk.

"That's an understatement. It doesn't look like that's going to change. I'm probably going to have to come in on Christmas at the rate that I'm going." He watched her remove the sushi on place it on the desk.

"As your friend, there is no way that I'm not to let you work on Christmas. Anyway, its ten days away. You have to let me help you." She leaned over the desk to see what he was working.

"Betty, you don't work here anymore." He really wanted to take her up on her offer. There wasn't anything that he would do to have her help but he didn't want to take away from job at INSPIRE magazine.

"No…but I'm taking some time off until after the New Year," said Betty. "And I would love to help you."

"Wow! That's over two weeks. You must have a generous boss." Daniel remarked, as Betty opened the container. "I guess there are perks in dating your boss."

"Yeah…well, I don't know about that. Anyway, he approved it before everything kind of blew up in my face."

"What? I thought things were going great with Jack Ass…"

"Daniel!" Betty's eyes widened, throwing the package of chop sticks at him.

"Hey…you're dangerous. Are you trying to kill me with those things?"

"His name is Jackson…and well, we broke up."

"Oh…Betty! What happened?" He didn't know whether to comfort her or celebrate. He hated Jackson. Mostly because he was dating Betty and his eyes, no man deserved her.

"I…uh…don't really want to talk about it. Let's just say that it was doomed from the start. Anyway, he's in St. Bart's, drowning his sorrows in Brandy."

"Well…he's obviously stupid. I could have told him that drowning his sorrows in alcohol never helps anything."

"No…actually. The new girl in the office is named Brandy." Betty said plainly and without missing a beat.

Daniel chuckled. "Oh…"

"It's for best." Betty made her way around the desk, pulling a chair with her. "I hope they are happy together."

Daniel closed his laptop and knew that it was time to put the work away for the moment. It could wait for a little while. After all, he was long overdue for some Betty time. With the exception of their weekly lunches and nightly phone calls since she left MODE five months ago, he hadn't had much of that.

Betty sat down beside him and patted him on the leg. "So…I'm all yours. Whatever you need but first, you need to eat."

Daniel nodded, grabbing the chopsticks. He took a bite. "Thank you for this. You just made my day so much better."

"You're welcome." Betty smiled. "I'm glad that I could brighten your day with my relationship problems."

"It's not that. It's just…I've missed you, Betty." Daniel placed the chopsticks down and just looked at her. Her smile lit up the room. To be honest though, he actually missed the braces.

"I've missed you too. Really though…we see each other once a week. I think I see you more than my family these days." Betty dug into the container of beef and broccoli with a pair of chopsticks.

"What are your guys doing for the holidays?" Daniel knew that holidays at the Suarez house was always a festive occasion. The food was always amazing. The tree was always decorated with handmade decorations. It was a far cry from what he grew up with. Daniel couldn't help but wish for the day when he had a family and would be able to have a real Christmas, just like that.

"My dad is actually going to spent Christmas with Elena in California . And Hilda, Bobby and Justin are going away with Bobby's parents to Bobby's aunt's house in Pennsylvania for the week. So…it looks like I'm on my own. With the exception of my office Christmas party on Friday night, I have nothing planned. What are you doing?"

"Alexis and DJ are supposed to be here on Christmas Eve. We were just going to have dinner at my mom's house," said Daniel. "I wanted to have them over to break in my new place but I have boxes everywhere."

"Well, I guess that will be my first project. Getting you unpacked and organized," said Betty. "And then I can help you get caught up on all this work."

"Really…you don't have to do that," said Daniel. "I don't want to get you in trouble."

"It's not like I'm going to be working with top-secret Meade business. I'm going to be helping you get organized. Anyway, MODE is not a competing magazine with INSPIRE and I could help you with anything you need. I'm at your complete disposal."

She added. "Consider it part of your Christmas present."

"Ahh…Christmas shopping. That's another thing that I still have to do. I haven't bought anything."

Betty giggled. "You can't tell that Christmas just snuck up on you."

"Pretty much! I've just been swamped." Daniel groaned, as he reached for another piece of sushi and then took a bite. "I don't know why Wilhelmina would pick now to leave the country."

"I'll just be your own little elf," said Betty. "I think I even have an elf costume somewhere."

Daniel threw his head back in laughter, as the mental picture entered his mind of Betty dressed as an elf. Of course, the costume he had in mind was more on the sexy side than the one that Betty probably had.

"That works, as long as you wear the pointy ears and talk to Santa about getting me off the naughty list."

"Well…have you been naughty, Daniel?" Betty said in a sultry and seductive tone that made Daniel drop his sushi back into the container.

"I…uh…well…actually I have been pretty good lately." Daniel searched for something to say.

Betty broke out in a fit of giggles, clearly amused at his answer. "I'm just kidding, Daniel."

He instantly relaxed, as he took in the sound of her laughter. "Oh…okay. Seriously, I've been a good boy this year."

"I believe you. " Betty smiled and placed the take out container back on his desk, holding up her hands. "I believe you. How are things going with you and Candace?" She looked through the glass at his raven haired assistant

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Aren't you dating her?" Betty asked curiously.

"No….well, there was that one date. It just didn't feel right though. So I told her that I thought it would be better, if we didn't go down that road. I don't think she was happy about it though because she's been a little snippy. I don't ask her to get my lunch or coffee anymore because I'm afraid of what she might do something to it."

"Why don't you transfer her to another editor?" Betty suggested. "Before there is another incident."

"Another incident?"

"Yeah…that's another one of the reasons that I'm here." Betty got up from her seat and moved around to pull a card from her purse. "I got this in the mail today and I'm guessing that everyone else did too."

Daniel took the green envelope in his hand. "You got my Christmas Card. You know I didn't even have a chance to look at these when they came back from the printer."

"That's what I thought. You better open it." She moved back over and took her seat.

Daniel pulled the card out of the envelope and he couldn't believe his eyes. It was a Christmas card with a photo of him and Betty embracing on the beach in Hawaii at the last photo shoot before she left MODE to work for INSPIRE. He still remembered the overwhelming feelings he had, knowing that when they returned to New York that she wouldn't be working for Meade anymore. Of course, at the moment that wasn't the point. There had to be a least 500 of these that went out to everyone on his contact list.

"Betty, I'm so sorry about this." He said apologetically. "I'm calling her in her now and get to the bottom of this."

"It's no big deal, Daniel. It's a beautiful photo actually," said Betty. "Of course, it's not a Christmas photo and it makes us look like we are…..together. I'm fine with it. I just figured that you should be ready for all the questions that you are going to get."

"How are you being so calm about this?" Daniel tried not to freak out. This Christmas card went to everyone from his grandmother to his dentist to Angelina Jolie.

"Oh…believe me. I'm used to it. Your former girlfriends have done everything to me from throw your underwear at me to try to kill me in a fire. I think I can handle something an innocent as this. Anyway, I know exactly how you can make it up to me."

Betty smiled mischievously and rushed over to the larger bag she had brought with her.

**To Be Continued- Please Review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**All I Want For Christmas**

_Author's Note: Thank you so much for the feedback and comments. I appreciate it. In the last chapter, I noted that there were ten days until Christmas in this story. However, there are twelve. (I've made the correction on Chapter 1.) This is for Day 4 of the Ugly Betty Advent Calendar at the Bachelor & The Butterfly site._

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**Chapter 2- 11 days Until Christmas**

It was 3:00 in the afternoon when Daniel received a text telling home to come home right away. So, he wasted no time, gathering his laptop and work to bring home and rushing home to find out what was urgent.

When he got home, he had expected to find Betty buried at the bottom of the endless sea of moving boxes that he had lived out of for weeks. Instead, he found that she had put away and organized everything in his new townhouse.

"Are you sure that you did this all by yourself?" Daniel looked around the living room, waiting for a collection of elves to come popping out from behind the leather couch. "This is amazing."

He scanned the room. "Betty, I don't know how I can ever thank you for all this."

She tugged on his arm and pulled him toward the staircase. "Come with me upstairs to the bedroom."

Daniel was speechless, as he and Betty went up the stairs. For seven months, he had secretly dreamed of her saying those words to him.

She led them into the master bedroom, which was also perfectly cleaned and organized. Betty dropped his arm and made his way over to the closet, opening the door. "I organized your shirts and suits by color. And I even organized your dresser and I see that someone has been…very naughty."

"Betty…" He felt his face rush with warmth, as he pulled his eyes away from her and also away from the king sized bed a few feet away. "I have not….and…and…why were you in there anyway?" The floor seemed like the safest place to turn his eyes right now.

Which drawer was she talking about? There were two top drawers. Suddenly, there were images of Betty up to her elbows in his underwear drawer. Did she see the black mesh briefs?

Pull it together, Daniel! What was the big deal really? It's not like she had never seen your underwear. In fact, half of the women in Manhattan have seen them at one point of another. Probably not the best time to bring that up though.

Daniel pulled his eyes back up to find that she was still talking a mile a minute about everything she had done and where she put everything away. All he could think about was being with her and dealing with his crush that he had pushed to the back of his mind for seven months now.

"I was organizing your socks. You had the black socks mixed with the white ones. The dress socks mixed with the athletic socks. It looks like you just dumped the socks right from the box into the drawer."

"Yep…that's pretty much my method of unpacking. I wouldn't exactly call that naughty."

"Oh…I would. And you can tell Santa when we go see him tonight, after we go pick out a Christmas tree." Betty said cheerfully.

"I'm not going to see Santa. I'm not ten years old and we can have the florist bring a tree."

Though, Daniel was on the verge of getting caught up in her holiday energy. He was also aware of where his beautiful friend was headed.

She wanted him to wear the present that she bought for him.

"Okay. Mr. Scrooge." She moved closer. "That's not much fun. Where is your holiday spirit?" Betty batted her eyes at him, flirtatiously.

Daniel grinned and laughed out laugh. "I know what you are trying to get me to do, Betty. I'm telling you now. It's not going to work. You can bat those beautiful brown eyes at me all you want."

She wanted him to wear the present that you gave him.

"I thought you told me that you loved it."

"I…I….do. Who wouldn't love red sweater with a giant reindeer on it?"

"Don't forget the nose that lights up." Betty giggled.

"Like I'm not going to stand out enough." Daniel replied.

"Come on. I'll wear mine, if you wear yours. It'll be fun," said Betty.

"You have one too," said Daniel.

"Of course, I do. I had them make mine at the same time they made yours, Daniel."

"Someone made them…. on purpose." Daniel said plainly.

Betty playfully slapped him. "Hey….you promised you would wear it because of that darn Christmas card. Don't make me put it on you myself."

Well, Daniel sure wouldn't fight her, if she was trying to remove his clothes. Putting them on was another story. After the past five minutes, Daniel's thoughts had definitely earned him a spot on the naughty list this year.

She turned to leave the room. "I'll see you downstairs in 20 minutes."

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Daniel had always known that Betty was a bit of a perfectionist. But if he didn't know that before, he would definitely know it now. After all, he had spent three hours with her, helping her track down the perfect Christmas tree.

One was too tall. Another was too short. One was too full. Another wasn't full enough.

Once Betty finally found the tree, she wanted. He happily paid for it and arranged for the deliver tomorrow afternoon. His reward was the smile on her face when she found the one that she had been looking for.

Still, Daniel knew that there was no one else on earth that he would rush all over Manhattan with, in a reindeer sweater. Not even his mother. Their wardrobe pretty much secured their spot on Page Six tomorrow, along with their festive sweaters. Added to the fact that his jilted assistant had sent out a Christmas card with his and Betty's photo on it, Daniel wondered how hard it would be to actually transition from friends….to more.

If everyone thought they were together, perhaps they should be. Daniel wished it were that easy. He had talked himself out of making a move since Hilda's wedding.

All because he was afraid of losing Betty all together, if she didn't return those feelings.

No. It was better to just enjoy what they did share, allow people to think whatever they wanted to think. After all, it wasn't their business what his and Betty's relationship was….or wasn't.

After a few hours, Daniel had grown accustom to the awkward stares from strangers and found that he didn't really care what the press would say about the fact that one of the editors of one of the top fashion magazines in the world was wearing a reindeer across his chest.

He would do it again for Betty's happiness. The look on her face made it all worth-while, as they made their way through Macy's to see Santa.

"So…what are you going to tell Santa that you want for Christmas?" Daniel held Betty's hand, as they walked past the jewelry counter. He hoped to get an idea of what she wanted for Christmas. Half way through their hunt for a Christmas tree, he realized that this was the perfect opportunity to find the perfect gift for her.

"I have everything that I want already." She replied.

That answer was no help at all. He had 11 days until Christmas and he wanted to find the gift that expressed how much she meant to him.

"I got you to wear that sweater." Betty giggled, as they approached the long line. She peeked up at him. The lighting made it hard to tell but he was sure that Betty was actually blushing. "I really couldn't ask for anything more."

Daniel chuckled. "Yeah…well. Only for you." Betty moved ahead, pulling him by the hand. "So…do you do this every year? Come and tell Santa what you want."

"Yes. Every Christmas for as long as I can remember," said Betty. "My mom and dad used to bring Hilda and I into the city to come tell Santa what we wanted. It's kind of a tradition and I hope to keep doing it when I have my own children…you know, someday."

She quickly added. "A long time from now."

Daniel smiled. "I get it. Well, the only tradition that I had…was me and Alex sledding….even that was only a couple times and that ended when I broke my arm one year."

"Oh….well, maybe it's time to start thinking about making some traditions of your own. Why don't we have your family over for Christmas? You said you wanted to do that."

"I don't know, Betty." They moved up in the line.

"I'll help you cook and decorate. Come on…it'll be fun." Betty said. "I'm already helping you with your Christmas shopping anyway."

There was no way that Daniel could say no to spending more time with Betty. "Okay….but only if you were the elf costume while you do it," said Daniel mischievously.

"Oh…God. I should have never told you about the elf costume." Betty giggled. "I was kidding about that. I'm not wearing that."

She added. "Anyway, I think that it's probably packed away in some boxes."

"Oh…I can buy you another one." Daniel chuckled. He already knew the exact website where he could go and order it. He even pay extra for overnight shipping.

"Daniel…come on."

"Betty, where is your holiday spirit?" He grinned, using Betty's own cheerfulness on her.

"I'm not wearing that costume, Daniel."

"If that's how you want to be; now I know exactly what to tell Santa I want for Christmas." He and Betty moved forward when it was their turn to see Santa Claus.

**To Be Continued- Please Review.**


	3. Chapter 3

**All I Want For Christmas**

_Author's Note: Thank you for your comments and feedback. I really appreciate it. This is for Day 8 of The Ugly Betty Advent Calendar Challenge at The Bachelor & The Butterfly on Live Journal._

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**Chapter 3**

**10 Days until Christmas**

Daniel woke up to a very loud banging noise coming from downstairs. As he looked over at the clock on his nightstand to see that it was after 9:30 in the morning, he had overslept and was late for work. He was supposed to be at the office at 9:00 for a meeting.

First, he needed to investigate the source of noises that woke him. Had he forgotten to lock up last night?

As Daniel moved slowly down the stairs, he moved toward the kitchen, where the noise seemed to be coming from. He moved slowly, releasing the he was unarmed. Not to mention that he was dressed in just his boxers.

He let out a sigh of relief though when he heard Betty's voice. He peeked around the corner to see her talking on the house phone, as she was searching through his kitchen cabinets. Daniel was just about to turn around and go back upstairs and get dressed.

"Daniel doesn't have anything planned for Saturday. I'm sure that he will be more than happy to show up," Betty paused for a moment, leaning against the counter. "Wow! It's been seven years. Well… …." Betty stopped suddenly.

"Oh….sorry, Nana." Betty continued.

Daniel flew around the corner, waving his arms. "No…" He said softly. "No…."

Betty gave him a strange look, assessing his state of dress and his erratic behavior. "He'll see you on Saturday." Betty hung up the phone.

"Please don't tell me that you just told my Nana that I was coming over for dinner with the rest of the Meade family." Daniel said.

"Why not?" Betty shrugged her shoulders and pulled her eyes away. "She's your grandmother. It's no big deal. We should get your mom to come."

"My mom won't go without a hundred miles of my grandmother's house," said Daniel.

"She sounded so sweet on the phone." Betty scoffed. "She can't be that bad."

"You have no idea." Daniel groaned.

Christmas at his grandmother's was torture, which is why he hadn't been to visit in seven years. Eight years ago when he visited during the holidays, his cousin David stole his girlfriend, just because his trust fund was bigger than Daniel's. The last he heard, the two were married and had three kids.

That wasn't only part of it though. There were other reasons why he didn't want to visit. Then, there was his Uncle Robert's fifth wife, Vivian, who was the same age as Daniel. The very last time he visited, there was that awkward moment when she pulled him into the hall closet that Daniel didn't want to revisit.

"My family is crazy." Daniel said plainly.

"Aren't all families?" Betty chuckled.

"I'm not going, Betty." Daniel watched Betty, as she grabbed the carton of eggs out of the refrigerator. "I'll just call her back and tell her that something came up."

"Come on. It's your grandmother." Betty turned to him, stopping what she was doing for a moment. "It's Christmas. She wants to see you. I wish that I see my grandmother. I never knew my dad's mother and I only met my mom's mother once and she thought I was my mother. You should be thankful that you have her. You should consider yourself lucky that your grandmother is still alive."

Daniel felt ashamed. Why did Betty always have this ability to show him when he was being unreasonable?

"Fine. I'll go but you are going with me since you got me into this."

"You are going to make your grandmother very happy. She said she missed her…" Betty look like she was about to burst with laughter. "Chucky Monkey."

"Uhh….I hated it when she calls me that." Daniel groaned.

"Awww…I think it's cute." Betty smiled and opened the carton, turning her eyes away.

"It was one thing when I was ten years old and a little overweight." He looked down at his stomach. "I know I've probably put on a little weight but I'm not…" He looked down at himself again, realizing that he was standing in the kitchen in his boxers, talking to Betty. "Uh….I think…I should probably go get dressed."

"Yeah." She peeked up at him, as she blushed profusely. Daniel turned and dashed down the hall.

X

After Daniel finished getting dressed, he made a quick call to his assistant Candace, who quickly informed him that Betty had already called her and rescheduled his meeting and had informed her that he would be working from home for the rest of the day.

From her tone, it was clear that Candace was jealous of his friendship with Betty. It made sense why she would sabotage his Christmas Cards. Had he been that obvious about his attraction to Betty?

Regardless, if she had been a little bit smarter though, she would have used a more embarrassing photo. The more he thought about it, he really wasn't upset by it. Betty even seemed very calm about it. Almost too calm.

As Daniel made his way back down the stairs and headed for the kitchen, he found Betty cooking breakfast.

"What time are they delivering the Christmas tree?" Daniel asked.

"Around 10:00 this morning." Betty replied.

"How do you want your eggs, Daniel?"

"Betty, you don't have to cook me breakfast."

"After last night, I think it would be appropriate. I've never had any man do what you did for me."

"Uh…" Daniel didn't know what to say. Nor, did he have any idea what he did. "What are you talking about?"

"I don't even know where to start…really. I had a lot of fun," said Betty. "I never thought I would see the day that Daniel Meade would be telling Santa what he wanted for Christmas."

"Only for you." From their hunt for the perfect Christmas tree to their visit with Santa to ice skating in Rockefeller Center, he knew exactly what she meant now. There were really no words to describe how great it felt to spent time with her.

Betty smiled bashfully. "Now, how do you want your eggs?"

"Scrambled." Daniel scanned the length of Betty's body, noting that today she wore a different Christmas sweater. This time, it had Santa on the front.

Daniel wandered over to the coffee pot. He saw that Betty had a fresh pot waiting. He could say that he didn't enjoy the way that Betty just seemed to warm up his new home.

He grabbed a coffee cup and poured a cup of coffee. "Did you even go home last night?"

"No. I slept on the couch." Betty poured the egg into the pan. "I wanted to make sure that you were really okay after your fall."

"Betty, I have a guest room." He leaned against the counter.

"I know but I was exhausted. I just fell asleep in front of the fire," Betty placed the scrambled eggs onto the waiting plate. "After I made sure that you made it through the night, I ran home early this morning and got a change of clothes."

"How's your head this morning?" Betty asked, as she handed the plate to him.

"It still hurts a little." Daniel suddenly realized that he felt achy from Betty using him, as a cushion when she fell on the ice. Perhaps, he should have asked Santa for a walker, for Christmas.

"Poor baby…." She petted his head. "Do you need me to call the doctor?"

"No…I'm fine." Daniel felt his heart thump loudly. Was it getting hot in here? "I told you that I was horrible at ice skating." He made his way over to the table, where Betty quickly joined him.

"You could have told me that before we were on the ice." Betty lifted her cup of coffee.

Daniel smiled at her mischievously. "Actually, I think I've met my match. Finally, someone that is just as bad as me."

"I'm not that bad, Daniel."

"I would have to disagree." He chuckled. "Your butt spent more time on the ice than you spent on your feet."

Betty smiled, as she lowered her cup. "Okay…Okay. You're right. I'm terrible. And I have the bruises on my butt to prove it."

Daniel's mind wandered. He needed to not think about Betty's butt. That would just be put him on the naughty list and he really wanted to be on the nice list for once. "Yeah. I guess we can rule out ice skating the next time we go out."

"Speaking of that….uh…" Betty said awkwardly. "There is something that I need to ask you."

He wondered what her question was going to be. Did she feel the sparks that he felt? Did she finally see that there was more to their relationship than just friendship? Did she want to move in with him? Did she want to rush out and plan a Christmas wedding? Perhaps, a baby for Christmas next year?

_Slow down, Daniel._

"Sure…Anything." Daniel managed to mutter, as he tried to calm himself. He was really was putting the cart before the horse.

"I kind of need your help with making someone jealous." Betty asked desperately.

Daniel tried to hide his disappointment, as he tossed all those ideas he had earlier out the window. "How can I help?

"I need you to go to my office Christmas party with me tomorrow night," said Betty.

**PLEASE REVIEW.**


	4. Chapter 4

**All I Want For Christmas**

_Author's Note: Thank you for the feedback and comments. This is a__n extra chapter that goes with the one that I am working on for the Ugly Betty Advent Calendar. I guess you could call it a bonus. (There will be a few of those from me between now and Christmas.) An extra special gift for all my readers. I can't tell you have much I appreciate each and every one of you._

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**Chapter Four **

It was only about an hour into Betty's office Christmas party and Daniel was ready to leave. So far, the only person that Betty had managed to make jealous was him. Across the room, he watched Betty while she talked to Jackson, who had just returned from his quick trip to St. Bart's. His trip was unfortunately cut short when his assistant and new girlfriend Brandy ran off with the bellhop from the hotel they were staying at.

From the looks of things, Jackson was eager to pick right back where he left off with Betty. He looked like he was trying to corner her underneath the mistletoe. Not that Daniel could blame him; Betty looked gorgeous tonight, dressed in a red cocktail dress. Her long black hair draped over her shoulder, while her signature necklace brought attention to the plunging neckline that displayed her delicious cleavage.

Daniel stopped himself. He really knew that his feelings had no place in the equation. The only reason that Betty had even asked him here tonight was because Jackson had called her and begged her forgiveness and she didn't want to go to party alone.

That and she also wanted to show him what he lost and would never have again. While Betty swore to Daniel that she had no interest in rekindling anything with her ex, she sure seemed to be falling for every line he was throwing her way.

Didn't she even notice that he hadn't taken his eyes off her chest the entire evening? Didn't she leave her brain at home tonight? She was laughing at everything he said.

Or perhaps, she knew what she was doing. Regardless, this was pure torture for Daniel to see the woman he loved and cared about more than any other, flirting with her ex-boyfriend. It was driving Daniel insane. It was taking every bit of self-control for him not to rush over there, throw her over his shoulder and carry her out of here. He knew that wasn't an option. He needed to trust Betty. She could take care of herself. She didn't belong to him. She was not his property. She was only her pretend boyfriend tonight.

As Daniel ordered another drink, he continued to watch Betty and Jackson. The longer he watched them, the more clueless Daniel became about what Betty saw in that jerk. Daniel knew that look and it was clear that he was only after one thing and it wasn't her beautiful mind.

Daniel grabbed his drink from the bar and belted it back. The scotch burned his throat and managing the sooth his aching heart temporarily.

He placed the glass back on the bar, grabbing Betty's drink and making his way back through the crowd filled with Betty's mostly intoxicated co-workers. As he crossed the room, he was met with many challenges on his way, including a clingy woman that wanted to get to know him better and another that wanted to know why he never called her back six years ago. He was on a mission though. He had to get to Betty. The whole time he was trying to get away from them, he still kept his eyes on that overconfident leech that looked like he was ready to un-wrap Betty like a Christmas present.

There was no way that he was going to allow this guy to worm his way back into Betty's life and hurt her again.

As he approached, Betty turned to him. Her smile seemed to radiate through the room. "Here is your drink, sweetie." Daniel handed it over and she took it from him.

"Is it strong?" She smiled. "I think I'm going to need it."

"Yes…I'm sorry that it took me so long," said Daniel. "You know how much I hate being away from my little snickerdoodle." Daniel planned on laying it on thick.

"Thank you, Studmuffin." Betty reached up and planted a kiss on his cheek. "I missed you too." He felt a rush of warmth rush through his body. If a simple kiss on the cheek felt like that, Daniel wondered what it would be like to really kiss her.

"I was just telling Betty that we could really use her help by working this weekend," said Jackson. "I have a very special project that I need her to work on with…I mean, for me."

"I'm on vacation, Jackson."

"Yeah…but we could really use your help." He replied.

"Ah…." Betty was stuck. Daniel knew how hard it was for her to say no to things when it came to work. "I….uh…"

Daniel knew he had to move quickly, wrapping his arms around Betty's waist from behind. He pulled her back against him. "I'm sorry. I don't think that's going to be possible. I'm taking Betty to my grandmother's house in Chappaqua this weekend to meet my family."

"Really…meeting the family that seems kind of serious." Jackson remarked.

"After four years, I actually think it's overdue. " Daniel said confidently. "Don't you think Betty?"

"Uh…yes. It sure is." Betty giggled, as she sipped her drink. "I can't wait to meet your Nana."

"That was fast," said Jackson. Daniel had to wonder if he could see through their act.

"Well, when you know you know." Daniel kissed Betty on the side of her head. "And I know what a special woman Betty is. I'd be a fool to let her slip through my fingers."

"Betty, it was only last week that…." Jackson chuckled.

Betty cut in to complete Jackson's thought. "That you dumped me for that airheaded ex-assistant because I wouldn't sleep with you."

"Well, I couldn't wait around forever." Jackson said arrogantly. "Especially when all you could talk about is Danny Boy here. It's obvious that you are in love with him."

Betty took her drink and belted it back and placed the glass on the tray of a passing waiter. Daniel could feel the heat rise from her skin, as he remained close. "Just shut up, Jackson."

"Betty, let it go." Daniel whispered in her ear. Daniel couldn't help but revel in that little tidbit of information. Jackson thought Betty was in love with him. He would celebrate that later. "Let me just take you home."

"It's not like that." Betty said meekly. "Daniel and I aren't…" She whispered.

"That's what I thought. It's just a hopeless crush. Daniel Meade doesn't date girls like you and neither do I. You are nothing."

Daniel had heard enough. He stepped out from behind Betty and moved around her. "Is that what you think?"

Jackson stepped back and Daniel moved forward. "Yes. It is." Jackson said sternly. "I know you two are friends but she's obviously not the type of woman that belongs with men like us. She's from Queens."

Daniel stood there for a moment, considering his next move. His first thought was to push this guy. He knew that Betty wouldn't like that. That left Daniel one other move.

He turned around and quickly moved to Betty, gently reaching for each side of her face and looked directly in her eyes. "No one talks to my Betty like that."

Daniel pulled his lips to Betty's urgently. It seemed that Betty's initial reaction was shock but within seconds, she deepened the kiss to make it look as authentic as possible. His hand fell away and moved to her waist, as slid down her backside.

As Betty pulled away, their eyes connected and it was as if there was no one else in the room with them. Daniel's heart pounded, as he continued to hold onto Betty.

"Let's get out of here." Daniel said softly. Betty simply nodded, as she quickly gave a stunned Jackson a cold glare, as she took Daniel's arm.

A few minutes later, she and Daniel were outside of the INSPIRE magazine offices when Betty told him that she needed to sit down for a second, while they waited for the town car to arrive.

"That was such a bad idea." Betty said reluctantly. "I don't know what I was thinking."

"What did you ever see in him?" Daniel asked.

"I'm not even sure anymore. I guess it doesn't really matter anymore," said Betty. "I guess that just teaches me not to date my boss."

"Yeah. I guess." Daniel hoped that didn't include ex-bosses. "You deserve better than him anyway."

"Thanks." Betty smiled. "And thank you for what you did up there. You really saved me." She scooted toward him and gazed over at him.

"Anytime." Daniel said bashfully.

"Of course, now everyone in my office is going to think that you and I are really dating." Betty giggled.

"Well, it seems a lot of people already thing that anyway. Who cares? Anytime, you need me to come over to your office and make out with you. I'm only a phone call away," said Daniel flirtatiously.

"I'll remember that." Betty looked directly in his eyes. And it could have been his imagination but it seemed that they were beginning to move closer and closer together. "I'll put you on speed dial."

Just when he thought, she was going to kiss him. A group of her drunken co-workers poured out of the exit of the building and she quickly pulled away. The town car pulled up and they both rose from the bench. Betty threaded her arm through his and they started toward the car.

"So…how about pizza and karaoke?" Betty asked. "I know the great place where we can get half off, if we sing."

"Sounds perfect." Daniel grinned. He had a feeling that this night was going to get even better.

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	5. Chapter 5

**All I Want For Christmas**

_Author's Note: Thank you for the feedback and comments. I appreciate them._

**Chapter 5**

Daniel knew they should have just stayed at home. There was nothing that he would rather do than enjoy a warm fire with Betty in his new home that she had worked so hard to decorate over the past few days.

Instead, they were headed into the unknown with all the signs appearing that they should just turn around and go home. The roads were horrible. Daniel also hated to drive when it was snowing. If they were going to have to make this torturous drive, why couldn't they have just taken the town car?

Betty quickly vetoed that idea when she told him that he was being a baby. It was only an hour drive. A road trip would be fun, she said.

If it weren't for her smiling face in the passenger seat, he would have turned around fifty miles ago.

"It's too bad that Alexis and DJ couldn't have gotten here a few days early. I know that Nana would have loved to have seen them, especially since she hasn't met her great-grandson yet."

"I'm sure that Alexis is just beating herself up over it." Daniel tried to not sound to sarcastic. He knew that Alexis felt the same way he did about their father's family. It was true. .

"I'm surprised that your mom didn't want come with us," said Betty.

"She had something that she had something more pleasant to attend to." Daniel remembered his mother's words, which consisted of something like it would be a cold day in hell before she ever walked back into that house.

"Like?" Betty asked curiously.

"She had a dentist appointment." Daniel replied.

The closer and closer they got to Nana's house, he wondered if he would be lucky enough for the car to somehow end up in a snow bank for the night. He and Betty could keep each other warm, while they waited to be rescued. He knew that he wasn't going to be that lucky though.

"I'm starting to wonder if we should even be going. No one else wanted to go."

"We are not disappointing your Nana. Anyway, we are almost there, Daniel." He needed to find some excuse of how he could get out of this night. Then, he remembered.

"I forget my laptop."

"You don't need it." Betty said plainly.

"I asked you to remind me last night." Daniel groaned. "How could you let me forget?"

"Wow…You in a mood." Betty peeked up at him from her phone.

"I've got still have some work to catch up on and…"

"Daniel, just relax. I'll help you when we get back. We are going for the evening. Not the weekend." Betty continued to type out the tenth text in the last fifteen minutes.

"Then, why did you make me pack like we were?"

"It's good to be prepared. Besides, we might have might have to find a hotel on the way back. The weather seems to be getting worse." Betty glanced over at him.

"Uh…probably." Daniel said. "That…uh…would probably be a good idea." Daniel thought they should probably just skip right there. After all, he would rather be snuggled up with Betty in a hotel room than visiting his psycho relatives, especially after the amazing time they had last night.

Of course, their night was tame according to Becks standards. In fact, he was almost waiting for Becks to come beat down Betty's apartment door and ask for Daniel's man card back for sleeping on Betty's couch when she offered him a spot on her bed. To be honest, Daniel wasn't sure he trusted himself to stay on his side of the bed, after he kissed her at the Christmas party.

As Daniel pulled the car into the drive of the house, he noticed that Betty was still texting, focused on that. She didn't even notice that they had arrived at their destination.

"What are you doing?" Daniel unfastened his seat belt. "That's not Jackson again. Because I'll…"

"He stopped calling when you picked up the phone at 4:00 in the morning and told him he interrupted us having sex," said Betty. "I don't think that's Jackson is going to be a problem anymore. Anyway, it's Hilda."

"Oh. Okay."

"She can be so nosey sometimes. Amanda called her and told that you slept over last night." Betty looked up at him.

"Oh…what did you tell her?" Daniel asked curiously. He had to admit there was a small part of him was afraid of Hilda, even though nothing actually happened between him and Betty.

"I told her that we didn't actually get much sleep at all." Betty chuckled, as she slipped her phone back in her bag. It wasn't a lie. They had sat up and talked for a while.

Daniel grinned, as he turned into the drive way and parked the car. "Okay."

"So we're here." She glanced at the frosty side window of the car to see the modest home, adorned with white Christmas lights. Snow everywhere.

They both got out of the car and started toward up the driveway. Daniel reached for Betty's hand, taking it in his.

"It's beautiful. It looks like it feel right out of a Norman Rockwell painting." Betty took in her surroundings.

"Don't be fooled, Betty." Daniel said plainly. "It's more like Norman Bates."

"Come on. Your family can't be that bad," said Betty.

"Whatever you do, stay close to me and don't wander off with Uncle Robert. Mom told me this morning that he and Aunt Vivian got divorced," said Daniel. To Daniel, that was good news. One less crazy person to deal with.

"Why do I have to stay close to you?" Betty gave him a puzzled look, as they started up the front steps.

"Because he's looking for wife number six and he likes them young and beautiful. Like you." Daniel gazed over at Betty, after he rang the doorbell. He could see a hint of pink in her cheeks.

The front door flew open. There stood his cousin David, with a drooling toddler in his arms with a half-eaten Christmas cookie in his hand.

"Daniel. You made it." David extended his free hand and shook Daniel's hand. "It's been years."

Daniel guided Betty into the Twilight zone and prepared himself for anything. "Hey…and who's this little guy?"

"This is Nicholas. He's four years old. The twins, Cassidy and Casey are six years old. I'm sure the little angels are around here somewhere." David closed the door, while Daniel helped Betty out of her coat.

"Three kids? Wow!" Daniel wasn't about to believe the little angels comment, especially if they were anything like David when they were kids. David used to lock him Daniel in the basement in the dark. This was before Daniel was even tall enough to reach the light switch.

Suddenly, out of no-where, Caroline appeared at David's side. "Hello, Daniel."

"Hi…Caroline. It's been a long time." Daniel really hated that his ex-girlfriend was married to his cousin. Another reminder of why he didn't like to visit.

"This must be Betty." Caroline grabbed ahold of Betty and hugged her. "It's so great to finally meet you. You have been all Nana has talked about all day."

"I can't wait to meet her." Betty pulled away. "And it's so great to meet all of you.

Caroline and David started into the living room while Daniel and Betty slowly followed.

"They don't seem that bad, Daniel." Betty whispered.

"Don't let down your guard, sweetie. Just follow my lead and I'll protect you." Daniel guided her down the front hall.

Daniel and Betty followed Caroline and David into the living room to a perfectly decorated Christmas tree, surrounded by piles of Christmas gifts. A roaring fire going in the fireplace and the stockings were hung along the mantle.

There was even one with Betty's name on it.

"There is my Chucky Monkey." A voice called out.

Daniel turned to see his Nana placing a tray of her perfect gingerbread men on the table and coming over toward them. She looked exactly the same. The same silver hair. The same strand of pearls. It was like a time had stood still here in the Holiday Twilight Zone.

"Hi…Nana."

Nana came over and hugged Daniel and then turned to Betty. "Daniel, she's lovely. I am so happy that you both found each other."

"I'm happy that I found her too, Nana." Daniel said sincerely. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad.

"Where are your bags?" Nana asked.

"They are in the car but we aren't staying." Daniel said quickly.

"That's nonsense. You can both stay here in Brad's old room. The bed is kind of small but I'm sure that you two love birds won't mind at all."

"Nana, we don't want to impose. Betty and I really should get back tonight." Daniel could sense that Betty was a little uncomfortable.

I've kept it exactly the way he left it," said Nana. "David, you can help Daniel get the bags from the car. While Betty and I get acquainted, I have some marvelous ideas for a spring wedding. The photo of the two of you on your Christmas Card was just beautiful."

"The wedding…" Betty gazed up at Daniel.

Soon, Betty would understand. Before the end of the night, she would be begging him to get her out of here.

"What?" Betty gave Daniel with a puzzled look.

Caroline grabbed Betty's hand. "Where's your ring?"

"Oh…" Betty looked over at Daniel, clearly lost about what to say to her question. Caroline dropped her hand. "It's….uh…"

"It's getting sized." Daniel jumped it and took Betty's hand, lifting her hand to his lips. "We didn't want that massive diamond to fall off her beautiful finger."

"It's just as well. I want to show Betty how to make the perfect gingerbread cookie." Nana pulled Betty toward the kitchen.

Betty smiled. "I would love that."

"Come on, dear." Nana grabbed ahold of Betty's arm.

"Betty, I…" Daniel really didn't want to let Betty out of sight.

"I'll be fine, Daniel." Betty reached up and gave Daniel a kiss on the cheek. "Get the bags from the car and take them up to our room."

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	6. Chapter 6

**All I Want For Christmas**

_Author's Note: Thank you so much for all the comments and feedback on this story. _

* * *

**Chapter Six**

As much as Daniel hated to admit it, he was having a great time with his family. His cousin David actually seemed somewhat normal and his children were actually little angels, just like he had said.

He was grateful that there seemed to be no major incidents so far. He just hoped that it would stay that way for the rest of his and Betty's visit. All they had to do was make it through dinner, and then he could whisk her away upstairs to the safety of their room, where they could lock themselves away until morning.

"So…who's the hot little woman you got there?" His uncle Robert eyed Betty appreciatively, having missed the earlier introductions due to his late arrival. Betty and his Nana had been in the kitchen for almost two hours, baking.

"That's Betty." Daniel held the glass of scotch in his hand. "My….uh…fiancée."

"So…is it serious?" His uncle asked. His eyes still fixed on Betty's assets.

"Yep." Daniel lifted the glass to his lips to keep himself from laughing. What did else did he expect his uncle - _a man who had been married five times_- to ask? "It's usually pretty serious when two people get engaged."

Daniel knew that it was a lie. He figured it was better to just go along with the lie. After all, Betty was on board. She even seemed to be willing to share the twin bed upstairs with him to keep up the act.

In fact, he was sure that his and Betty's little role-playing might actually be the key to keeping his family on their best behavior. He planned on using it to his advantage.

And if Daniel was really lucky, it would probably keep his Uncle Robert from trying to turn Betty into wife number six and in the process making Betty, his aunt.

That was just wrong in so many ways. Betty could not become his Aunt Betty. No way. That would totally ruin the elf fantasy that Daniel had about Betty last night.

"Take it from me, Danny. Anything can happen between the engagement and the wedding. I've been engaged twenty times." Robert said in almost a bragging way. "And every woman that I did marry was supposed to be the one." His uncle patted him on the back.

"Betty is the one." Daniel said confidently. "The only one for me."

"Well, take my advice. At least, get a pre-nup." Robert chuckled. "In about five years, I guarantee that you will be willing to trade her in for a younger model after she gives a birth to a couple Meade heirs."

"I will not." Daniel protested.

"Well, just make sure to get a hot nanny," said Uncle Robert arrogantly.

"Will you leave him alone?" Caroline cut in. "Let Daniel be happy. I think that Betty is a lovely girl and after Molly, he deserves to find someone who makes him happy."

"Thanks." Daniel said gratefully. He glanced through the entryways that lead into the kitchen to see Betty hard at work, trying to decorate Christmas cookies. She looked adorable in the red and white polka-dotted apron. With a bit of flour on her cheek, he felt a surge that made Daniel realize that it might be time to step up things with the object of his affection. "Betty makes me very happy."

"Whatever. Don't say I didn't warn you." His uncle murmured, as he wandered into the kitchen. "Maybe, I should get a closer look and find out what the big deal was.

Caroline and Daniel watched him wandered into the kitchen. He thought that he might need to get in there before his uncle tried something with Betty. He knew that Betty could take care of herself.

"Thanks for that." Daniel let out a sigh of relief.

"No problem." Caroline said. "Hey, Can I talk to you upstairs for a moment?"

"Sure." Daniel nodded. He took one last look to saw that Betty had left the kitchen.

After a few delays, Daniel followed Caroline up the stairs and down the long hall to the bedroom that he and Betty were staying in. She closed the door when they were inside and locked it.

"You don't have to act with me, Daniel. I know that you and Betty aren't really together," said Caroline.

"What?" He was starting to think that he made an error by coming up here with her.

She wrapped her arms around Daniel's neck. "You don't have to pretend. I know you."

Yes. He made a big error.

He quickly pushed her away, tripping himself and falling back against the bed, causing Caroline to crawl on top of him and kissed him.

"Get off me." He started to push her away. "You are married to my cousin." He managed to push her off of him and he tumbled to the floor. "I'm engaged."

"Come on. We both know that we were really hot together."

"That was over a long time ago." Daniel quickly got up from the floor before she could jump him again. "You are married."

"David is sleeping with his assistant and I've been playing around with the gardener. My marriage was over a long time ago." Caroline began unbuttoning her blouse. "Come on, Daniel. You can't tell me that plain little Betty makes you happy."

"Stop it." Daniel rushed for the door and quickly opened it. "I love Betty with all my heart and there will never be anyone else."

"Daniel…"

Daniel turned to see Betty standing there in a wedding dress and a stunned look on Betty's face.

"Get out Caroline now." Daniel grabbed Betty's hand and pulled her inside, as Caroline got up and started out of the room.

When she was gone, Daniel closed and locked the door. His heart was pounding as he tried to figure out what to say to Betty about what he had said and why the fact that his cousin's wife was in their room.

"I know that didn't look…." Daniel then assessed her state of dress. Wedding dress that is

He looked her up and down. "Betty, why are you wearing a wedding dress?"

"It's your grandmother's dress," said Betty plainly.

Daniel had fantasized about a Christmas wedding; this was not what he had in mind though.

"Yeah…but why are you wearing it?" He asked curiously.

"She said she wanted me to try it on while we were waiting for the cookies," said Betty. "I figure what was the harm. Your Nana is so sweet. But then…"

"And then…." Daniel looked over on the closet door and saw a tuxedo hanging there.

"Once I had the dress on, she said that the judge would be here in twenty-minutes to marry us." Betty said. "She said something about he owned her a favor."

She added. "She even made a cake with a little gingerbread bride and groom on the top. I slipped upstairs when she went to get the veil."

"What?" Daniel wanted to say that he was surprised but he actually wasn't. He should have known that his family would flip the switch of crazy sooner or later.

"She's crazy." Betty's eyes widened. "I tried to tell her that we needed to wait but she said that there was no way that she was going to miss you getting married this time." Betty grabbed ahold of him. "After she missed your first wedding."

"Oh I see."

"I tried to tell her no but she just doesn't seem to want to take no for an answer," said Betty.

"Meades aren't good at having people tell them no," said Daniel. "They like to get what they want at all costs."

He continued. "I mean…you saw my cousin's wife in here. She was hitting on me and she wouldn't take no for an answer. Plus, my uncle was clearly ogling you earlier." said Daniel. "Even though I told him that we were engaged."

"I know. He slapped me on the butt and told me that I had a nice ass." Betty glanced up at Daniel timidly. Daniel couldn't help but laugh out loud. "I'm so glad you think it's funny."

"Well, it's the truth." Daniel figured that he really had nothing to lose at this point.

Betty rolled her eyes and smiled. "Get me out of this dress now." She turned so that her back was to him.

"I never thought I'd ever hear you say that to me." Daniel said playfully, against her ear, as he brought his hands to her waist. It was time to do something about these feelings that he had harbored for so long. It was obvious that she had been too shocked about his Nana's plan to hear his earlier declaration of love for her.

Then again, she would have probably just thought he was acting along with the fake engagement.

Betty spun around. Her face only inches from his. "Daniel, I...oh…uh… " She blushed.

"Yes…" Daniel's heart pounded so loudly inside his chest. He wondered whether, Betty could hear it.

He could tell that Betty was obviously just as affected as he was by their closeness of their bodies.

"I just need you to unzip me and I can do the rest…alone." Betty's voice shook nervously.

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	7. Chapter 7

**All I Want For Christmas**

_Author's Note: I'm going to bump up the rating on this to M rating. Not anything major, just in case. I just feel that rating give me a little more freedom to write whatever comes into my mind. Thank you for the comments and feedback. You guys are awesome._

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

After arriving home late last night, this was no how Daniel imagined spending his Sunday afternoon. Here he was though, Christmas shopping with Betty and thousands of others people hyped up on hot cocca, candy canes and Christmas spirit.

As he led Betty through the crowds of people, he had to wonder whether or not he just saw two adults fighting over a pair of footie pajamas or whether he was losing his mind.

Regardless, there was a bonus to this torturous errand. Betty was still willing to spend time with him, despite the horrible wedding dress fiasco that she had survived at Nana's. In fact, it was almost like it never happened. She was bubbling over with Christmas cheer.

"You know you never did tell me what you wanted for Christmas?" Daniel glanced over at her, as they walked through the store.

"Daniel, I don't want anything. The best present is being able to spend time with you." She replied happily. "That's all I could ever want."

"Even all the crazy stuff with my family." Daniel chuckled, as he grabbed her hand. "You know the wedding thing." Daniel knew that he was never going to forget the image of Betty wearing his grandmother's wedding dress.

"Well, it wasn't funny at the time but now I actually think it's kind of humorous," said Betty. "Just thinking about the fact that if we hadn't gotten out of there when we did, we might actually be married now."

"Yeah." Daniel gave her a quizzical glance. Even if they hadn't escaped, there was no way that anyone could have made her marry him against her will. He didn't question her statement though. Instead, he was going to go with it. It was time to stop dancing around his feelings. After all, he had hidden them for months. Things needed to move forward and for once, he was pretty confident that Betty might just as willing as him.

"Do you really need me to do this with you?" Daniel asked. The last thing he had on his mind now was shopping. Had Betty heard of online shopping? At least, they could do that from the comfort of his own couch…or bed.

"Yes. It'll be fun."

"That's what you always tell me before you torture me," said Daniel playfully. "I can think of a lot of things that are more fun than this."

If it were up to him, he would still be at home curled up on the couch with Betty. After they got home last night, neither of them made it any further than the comfortable couch in his living room. This morning, he woke with her snuggled up beside him. Her face nestled in his neck and her hands sprawled across his chest. He even managed to kiss her on the forehead before she opened her beautiful brown eyes. If he could wake up that way every morning for the rest of his life, he would be a very happy man.

"Quit being a Scrooge and you will be rewarded for being good later." Betty giggled, as she let go off his hand to look at a pair of fluffy bunny slippers.

Daniel moved in behind her. "I could just give you my credit card. Buy whatever you want. I could have a special present waiting for you when you get home."

"Daniel, I'm not buying your family's Christmas gifts." She said plainly. Not taking his hint that he was trying to flirt with her.

"You did it when you were my assistant." Daniel replied quickly.

"Well…I'm not your assistant anymore. I'm your…." Betty focused on the slippers.

"You're my…" Daniel could see her cheeks turn pink. "You're my what?"

"We really need to finish shopping." Betty tried to change the subject, as they stood there in the middle of the department store. "I still need to pick up the stuff to make gingerbread cookies. I want to make them for DJ's visit."

"Betty, I need you to finish that sentence." Daniel moved closer to her. She lifted her eyes to him.

"I'm your friend, Daniel."

Daniel gave her an amused smile. "I think that you are a lot more than that."

"Daniel…" Betty smiled timidly, meeting his eyes.

Before she could say anything else, Daniel moved in and kissed her, dropping the bunny slippers that were in her hands. He dropped the shopping bag from his hand to the ground; bring his hand to her cheek. After the events of the past few days, Daniel can't say that he was surprised when Betty deepened the kiss.

As they parted, Daniel smiled brightly. "You aren't just my friend. I think you know that."

"No. I guess not." Betty lifted her shy eyes to him.

"After that, I think we should go right home and talk about that," said Daniel suavely. "Don't you think?"

A smile erupted across Betty's face. "Nice try. We still have to finish Christmas shopping. There will be plenty of time for the rest later."

"That sounds promising…but Betty, I still don't have any idea what to get everyone. They already have everything." Daniel let out a frustrated sigh.

Betty picked up the fluffy bunny slippers again and hung them in front of his face. "I bet Alexis doesn't own a pair of these."

"Yeah…but I doubt they make them for her giant feet. Remember, she still has the same size feet that I do. That's one thing that didn't change in her conversion from Alex to Alexis." Daniel took the slippers and put them down with the others pairs. "Anyway, I don't think that Alexis isn't the warm and fuzzy type."

"How do you know? She might like them."

"That would be like giving my dad a pair of bunny slippers," said Daniel.

He quickly added. "Not to mention that there is something about the image of bunnies on someone's feet that terrifies me."

"Well, I was just trying to help. It's not like you had any better ideas, smart guy." She gave him a gentle shove and grabbed the slippers once again.

"We are not getting those for her." Daniel tries to take the slippers again.

"Oh no," Betty held them away from him. "I'm getting them for myself for later tonight, especially now that I know that they terrify you." She headed toward the lingerie department with her purchase. He grabbed their shopping bag and started to chase after her.

She giggled. "That could be fun. Trying to chase after you."

"I'll get those." Daniel maintained to grab the slippers from her grasp.

"Daniel….give those back." Betty continued to try futilely to reach the slippers that he was holding over her head. "I'm not letting you buy them for me."

"Hey…you won't tell me what you want for Christmas," said Daniel. "So, you just made it really easy for me."

"Daniel….uh…" She continued to try to reach for them. She was also beginning to try to climb his body to get to them.

"Betty…" Daniel grabbed her waist to pull her down. He chuckled, as they waited to pay for their purchase. At the same time, he saw something that he liked even better. "Here you go."

He handed the slippers back to her, as his eyes lit up with glee. "Here we go." He reached over to the rack and grabbed a skimpy elf outfit from the rack.

"No…" She said softly, looking around to see that they had captured that stares of a few other customers. "No"

"Oh…Yes." He held it up to Betty, trying to imagine what he would look like. "Yes. Yes."

"Very funny, Daniel." Betty pleaded. Her face flamed with embarrassment. "Put it back."

"It's very sexy. It's perfect for you. In fact, I think I'll get you one in red and green." Daniel gave her a hopeful glance. "You did say that you would be my little elf."

"I did say that, didn't I?" He could tell that Betty was trying to contain her laughter.

Daniel moved closer and grinned. "You did. And I think that you need a uniform to play the part."

"Daniel, I'm not wearing that." Daniel could tell by her tone that she was up for possible negotiations at a later point.

"Well, then what am I going to open on Christmas morning?" Daniel removed the slipper from her hands, relatively easy this time. He placed his purchases down.

At this point, he didn't care if she wore it on the elf lingerie on Valentine 's Day or even next Christmas, as long as he got to see her in it. After their near miss of a wedding and the Christmas card that made everyone assume that they were together, Daniel figured all the signs were pointing to the beginning of something great.

"Well….I…uh…" Betty crossed her arms.

"Ha…that's what I thought." Daniel leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. "Suddenly, I really like Christmas shopping."

Daniel turned his attention to the sales woman. "We'll take these…and that white teddy over there in the same sizes as these two."

"Why that?" Betty asked curiously.

"You need something to go with these white bunny slippers." Daniel raised an eye brow playfully.

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	8. Chapter 8

**All I Want For Christmas**

Author's Note: Thank you for the feedback and comments. I appreciate. I'm glad that you are enjoying this story.

* * *

**Chapter 8**

It had been almost a week since Betty had come into his office and offered to be his personal elf for the holidays and began to turn his world upside down and inside out in the most amazing ways. From their horrible ice skating experience to their adventures at Nana's house, Daniel wouldn't change anything about the time that they had spent together.

For one thing, the past week had been like one extended date. With each passing day they spent together, he and Betty were getting closer and closer. It was the most amazing feeling of excitement, falling in love with his best friend and knowing that when he left the office tonight for the holidays, Betty would be waiting for him when he got there.

It sure beat going home to a cold and empty house. With Betty there, the house was filled with warmth. The only thing that saddened him was that once the holiday festivities were done. She would go back to her apartment and her job.

Sure. They would have their dates, their lunches and their weekends to spend together. There was just a feeling of not having Betty there every night that made him feel empty.

With Christmas only four days away, Daniel was ready to wrap up his work, so that he could get home to spend as much time with Betty as possible, exploring their budding relationship.

There was nothing more that he wanted than to stir up some romance with a bottle of wine, some of her favorite flowers and some cuddling in front of the fireplace into the early morning hours.

Maybe then he could charm….his new…girlfriend…into letting him get a peek at one of his Christmas presents….if he was a really good boy and was extremely lucky.

So far, Daniel was stuck firmly on first base. Not that he was complaining at all because kissing Betty was far better than anything that he had experienced with anyone else. In fact, he would gladly give up every one night stand that he had in his life, just to feel Betty's lips on his.

Why hadn't he figured out years ago that Betty's lips were more addictive than any drug that he had ever tried? He could have saved himself years of misery.

Even though, he knew that things were heating up slowly and he was okay with that. After all, he wasn't his Nana. He could wait until Betty was ready to go ahead to the next level.

That's not to say that it wasn't a challenge though. Last night when Daniel came home to find Betty in the kitchen with flour in her hair, wearing an apron and decorating gingerbread men. It took every bit of will-power that he had to control his raging libido and also every bit of self-control, not to get down on one knee right there on the flour covered floor and ask her to marry him.

So, they could create more Christmases like this one. (With the exception of the evening at Nana's) He would try to restrain himself on both counts, until Betty gave him the green light.

Physically, Betty had kept him on lock down, keeping their kisses relatively calm and sweet since he initiated the kiss in the department store.

The night they returned from their Christmas shopping adventure, he had suggested that she try on one of his presents. She giggled playfully and told him that it wasn't Christmas yet and she still had to wrap his gifts. His reply was that she could save the wrapping paper and do their part for the environment.

Despite the calm nature of their kisses, it still left Daniel with a flood of intense emotions that only encouraged him that the best was yet to come for them. And he couldn't wait to explore them in the coming days…months…and years ahead.

Yes. Daniel was in this for the long haul and he knew that he needed to give her a Christmas gift that express just that.

With that thought, Daniel sent Betty a message that he would be delayed and that he had a few more gifts to pick up and would be home soon. About ten minutes later, Daniel was walking through the doors at Tiffany's.

He knew that Betty hated when he shopped at Tiffany's. It just reeked of his past life, as one of New York City's most notorious bachelors. But Daniel knew that he needed some help to pick out the perfect gift for Betty. He couldn't afford to screw this up.

"Mr. Meade…" It was like a signal when off the moment that Daniel walked in the door. Nigel appeared. "How can I help you today? It's a pleasure to see you."

"Hi…" Daniel gazed over the cases of jewelry and was overwhelmed to say the least. In all his years of making purchases from Tiffany's, he didn't actually recall actually stepping foot into this place. Nigel always delivered his purchases personally to the office or had someone else deliver the gifts to their recipient. "I need to get a special Christmas gift for my girlfriend."

"Aw…yes, Ms. Suarez. The photo of the two of you on your Christmas card was beautiful."

"You remember Betty?" Daniel asked curiously. Once again, that Christmas card was getting him and Betty some serious attention.

"Of course, you purchased the business card holder for her in 2006, the key chain in 2007, a pair of butterfly earrings in 2008 and a butterfly brooch in 2009."

"Wow…you remember her." Daniel was impressed with Nigel's memory.

"I make a point of paying attention to these details when one of my best clients purchases something besides "the usual" for a woman in his life. Plus, Ms. Suarez has always fascinated me with her colorful personality," said Nigel. "She's one of a kind."

"Yes, she is." Daniel grinned like a school boy with a crush. His heart seemed to flutter in his chest, giving him a feeling of incredibility that he had the possibility of a future with her.

"I've suspected that I might be hearing from you very soon, especially after I received the card with the photo of the two of you." Nigel led Daniel over and pulled out a selection of rings for him to choose from. "Now I'm honored to help you select an engagement ring for her."

Daniel wanted to jump to correct Nigel. He had thought more along the lines of an engraved bracelet with an affectionate message or a pair of diamond earrings.

_Diamonds were forever. Right?_

What the heck though? It's not like it was going to hurt anything to just look. No purchase had to be made today. He could still leave here with that bracelet or those earrings….or both.

He might as well look. It would save him time because he knew that he would probably be looking for a ring in the next year anyway. He was here. He might as well.

And plus, he already knew without a doubt that Betty was his happily ever after.

"Do you see anything you like?" Nigel asked, as Daniel gazed over the diamond engagement rings. All beautiful, like his Betty.

"Uh…" Then, there it was.

Two seconds ago, Daniel really had no intention, except in his imagination of actually purchasing an engagement ring. Now, his eyes were fixed on a two caret princess cut diamond with a platinum band of diamonds. He knew that it was the right one for Betty's hand.

"This one." Daniel pulled out the ring.

"Are you sure? I can show you other, Mr. Meade."

"I'm very sure. This is the one. It's perfect." Daniel was amazed at how easy that had been. In the moments, he had thought about proposing to Betty in their short time together. He thought that he would have to search long and hard to find the perfect ring.

He didn't though. It was like he was drawn to it…like it was meant to be.

"Very well…" Nigel grinned, obviously pleased with Daniel's decision. "Congratulations."

"She hasn't said yes yet." Daniel remarked. Suddenly, he was filled with nerves.

"I'm sure she will. I'll be right back" Nigel left for a moment, taking the ring with him.

Now that he was alone, Daniel was second guessing himself. Was he out of his mind to be doing this? Of course, Betty seemed to be open to a future with him. But their relationship was still very new.

Would this push her away? Or was it the push they needed to put them right where they should have been years ago?

Daniel took a deep breath, as he tried to calm himself. Just because he was buying the ring didn't mean that he had to propose on Christmas. He could hold it for a later date, when he knew that Betty was ready.

After all, he could always tell her later how he bought the ring their first couple days together. That was kind of romantic, right?

It would show that he was sure that she was the one all along. Yet, it would also show that he was willing to wait for her to adjust to their relationship.

Yes…that's what he could do.

Daniel looked up and saw Nigel returning. "Will there be anything else?" Nigel asked.

"Could I also look at some bracelets and maybe, some earrings?" Daniel let out an anxious breath, as he followed Nigel to pick out the Betty's other Christmas gifts.

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	9. Chapter 9

**All I Want for Christmas**

_Author's Note: Thank you for the feedback and comments. There will be one more chapter of this. I'll post it later._

**Chapter Nine**

Daniel gazed over at Betty on the opposite side of the town car. She looked so pretty and festive in the red dress that she purchased on their shopping trip to Macy's, a few days earlier. He even golden butterfly hairclip in her long silky raven hair.

Just looking at her made his heart beat so fast that it made him dizzy. How could he have worked beside her for four years and she not have this effect on him? How could he have waited all these months of knowing, exactly how he felt about her and never told her?

"Daniel, I forgot to take the turkey out of the freezer." Betty blurted out, as they came to a stop in front of his mother's townhouse. "It's going to be frozen solid."

He reached over for her hand, squeezing it gently. "It'll be okay. We should only be here for a couple of hours and then we'll be headed back home."

"Okay." Betty's mind still seemed to be focused on the turkey.

"Do you want me to run home and take it out?" Daniel asked.

"No…no…It's okay."

"Are you sure?" Daniel asked. He knew that he would do whatever she wanted.

"Yes. But do you think we can microwave it?" Betty asked curiously.

"I don't know. Do I look like I know anything about turkeys?" Daniel chuckled, as he opened the car door and helped Betty out of the car and onto the sidewalk. He closed the car door.

"No…I guess not." She smoothed out her dress.

"Have you even cooked a turkey before?" Daniel asked curiously.

She grabbed onto his arm, so that she wouldn't sleep on the icy sidewalk. "Not exactly. I usually just help Papi with the stuffing."

They stopped at the base of the steps and she ran her hands inside his coat to wrap her arms around his waist. She looked up at him.

Daniel knew that Christmas dinner preparations were going to be entertaining. "Well, I'm sure that we can figure it out."

He kissed her gently and then she smiled. "I'm sure we will." She placed her head against his chest as she continued to hold onto him.

"Daniel, do you have something in your pocket? I feel something hard."

Daniel knew that he needed to think fast. "Uh…well, the two of you haven't been formally introduced yet and you look so sexy tonight and he kind of has a mind of his own.

"Daniel…" She blushed.

Daniel chuckled. Betty was adorable. He loved it when she gave him that shy look. It made him want to go back home right now, where they could continue to explore and nurture their relationship.

"You are so beautiful." Daniel said adorningly. "I think we both need to go home right now."

"No…" Betty giggled. "We have to go. Your mom is expecting us."

"Well, something came…up." Daniel said seductively.

"Daniel, we can't…" Betty wrapped her hands around his neck, as the snow started to fall gently down. Daniel moved in and kissed her and deepening the kiss. As he kissed her, he was still tempted to just take her home. After all, they were going to spend all day with his family on Christmas when they came over to his new home.

He really just wanted to spend more time with Betty. After all, he and Betty had just started to make progress last night, when he actually got her to sleep in the same bed with him.

Granted, nothing more happened than some fervent kissing and gentle touching. He stayed on his side for the most part and she stayed on hers. She stayed covered from her neck all the way down to her feet wearing her flannel penguin pajamas.

Never in Daniel's entire life would he have thought that the day would come when he would consider flannel penguin pajamas sexy. On her, they were though.

Perhaps, it was that he wanted to know what was underneath. The anticipation of knowing that she wasn't going to give into him like every other woman he had ever been with.

Last night when they laid in bed together and he allowed him to unbutton the two buttons, Daniel felt like he had just scored the winning touchdown at the biggest football game of the year.

All jokes aside, Daniel was very happy at the rate they were taking things. In all his years of vast experience with women, there was no one that could do what Betty did to him. Each kiss and touch was so much better than the one before it and it was only going to get better.

It only cemented his assurance that he had made the right decision about purchasing the ring that he was carrying around in his pocket.

Yes. He was carrying the ring around with him. Not because he was planning to pop the question tonight. He was only carrying it around so that he didn't run the risk of Betty finding it.

He would rather her think that he was aroused than let her know that he had $45,000 engagement ring in his pocket.

He just didn't want her to find the ring. He already had one close call when he came home with his purchase and had put the ring in the top drawer of his dresser. About a half hour later, he thought his heart was going to stop when he heard the sound of her voice screaming. "Oh My God, Daniel."

He ran up the stairs two at a time. His first thought was that she found it when she was putting away the laundry that he had seen her folding while he was building a fire. Instead when he got upstairs, he found that she had discovered his old stash of porn magazines in the bottom drawer of his dresser.

After he disposed of them (by choice), he found that he felt better holding onto the ring, keeping it in the pocket of his coat most of the time. Other times, he kept it in his pants pocket when he discovered that she liked to stick her hands in his coat pocket when she forgot her gloves.

Keeping it close would also make for easy access, if he should be inspired….and courageous enough to ask her to move in with him, marry him and have a family with him.

Betty pulled away and looked up at him. "You know we need to get inside. It's starting to snow. And I don't want you to get sick." She let go of him and they started up the front steps.

"At least, you can be my nurse." He said playfully.

"You'd love that." Betty said equally as playfully. In fact, there was no doubt that she was flirting with him.

As they reached the top step, Daniel reached for her in the pulled her under the shelter over the front door. He felt a surge of emotion that he couldn't hold it in.

"And I love you." He wrapped her in her arms and pinned her against the wall.

"I love you too." Betty's breath was heavy. Her cheeks were pink. Her eyes were sparkling.

Daniel loved hearing Betty utter those beautiful words. He felt both a tear in his eye and a huge smile come to his face. He knew he would always remember this moment for the rest of their lives together.

He leaned in and kissed her passionately. With her hand around his neck, he pressed against her eagerly, as he kissed her. Her body melted into his. He didn't even care that he was putting on a show for anyone that might pass by. He was in love with his best friend and they could put that on Page Six, if they wanted to. Nothing else matter except the woman that he held in his arms right now and the one that was going home with him tonight….and every night for the rest of his life.

Now, all of Daniel's worries about moving from friends to fiancée too fast seemed to slip away. It left behind a feeling that this was the right moment.

There was no way he was going to let her get away. They had been together for five years, as co-workers, friends, best friends and confidante to one another. Five years, it had taken them to get to this point.

And Daniel couldn't wait to start the next phase of their life together right away. As they broke apart, Daniel still held onto her.

"Betty…"

"Yes…" She said breathlessly.

"This has been the most amazing Christmas ever. I think the day that you came into my office and volunteered to be my personal Christmas elf was the biggest blessing of my life," said Daniel.

"You just wanted me to wear the naughty elf outfit." Betty grinned and gave him a sweet kiss. "Maybe, Santa could come tonight."

"Really…" All of Daniel's thoughts stopped suddenly.

"You have been a very good boy and I think that you should be allowed to open one of your presents early." She said slowly and seductively. "Is that what you want for Christmas?"

He was sure that his heart was going to stop, as he listened to every single word that she said.

Daniel took a deep breath. He reached in his pocket and took out the ring box. He opened it.

"All I want for Christmas is you, Betty." He said sincerely.

Betty's eyes widened and tear up. She stared down at the diamond ring. "Daniel…Oh My God!"

"Betty, I just need you to listen to me before you tell me to go jump in the East River," said Daniel. "I can't live without you. I want to make the most of every single day. I don't want to waste another day, hoping that someday you might consider a future with me."

"Daniel…"

"Betty, I love the time that we spend together, even if we are fighting over what to watch on television or whether I'm watching you fold the laundry. I want those little moments….and all the big moments. I want a family with you. I want us to take our kids to see Santa every year and to pick out a Christmas tree. I want you to teach our children how to make Nana's gingerbread cookies. I want all of them to have matching reindeer sweaters."

He stopped for a moment. "To be honest, I kind of wish that we had gotten married that night we were at Nana's. Even though, she is a little crazy. Maybe, she had the right idea. Betty, would you please be my wife?"

"Daniel…" She smiled.

"I promise that you'll never have to buy me another Christmas present ever." Daniel could feel his hands start to shake a little. "Will you at least think about it?"

"Okay….I'll marry you, Daniel." She said calmly.

"Well, someone is going to have a Merry Christmas," said Alexis sarcastically.

"Alex…." Claire shot Alexis a disapproving look.

Daniel and Betty turned to see Clare, Alexis and DJ standing in the doorway, watching them.

"Mom…how long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to know that Betty has a naughty elf costume and she wants you to play Santa…. The two of you have been ringing the doorbell." Claire said with a state of amusement.

Betty moved away. It seemed that she had been pressing the doorbell while he had her pressed against the wall.

"Oops." Betty's face was really red now.

"We'll give the two of you a minute." Claire pushed Alexis and DJ back inside and closed the door.

As soon as he heard the door close, Daniel kissed her, and then he removed the ring from the box and slipped it on her finger.

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	10. Chapter 10

**All I Want For Christmas**

_Author's Note: Thank you for the comments and feedback during this story. This is the final chapter. I might do an epilogue on New Years that goes along with this, if there is any interest. Thanks again for all your support for my writing this year. I hope that you all have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year._

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**Chapter 10**

If there was one thing that Daniel knew about Betty, it was that she liked to plan ahead. When she set out to do something, she put her heart into it. And Daniel knew that the Christmas that Betty had been planning for almost two weeks now was going to be no different.

For almost two weeks, he had watched her submerge herself into making sure that they had the perfect Christmas. After hours of hunting, they found the perfect Christmas tree. Together, they purchased and made decorations for that tree and then decorated it together.

Then, Betty had dragged him to see Santa. Never in his life did he actually image that the one thing he told Santa that he wanted for Christmas would actually come true. The ring was on Betty's hand that proved that Christmas miracles do happen.

And it would definitely count as a Christmas miracle because she had seen first-hand the Meade gene pool. She had met his insane family members and she was still here. Of course, Betty knew that his family was far from normal, even before this holiday season. After all, his mother killed his father's mistress….and his brother became his sister. Then, his son became his nephew. It really was a miracle that Betty wanted to be part of his crazy family. It was almost like a really bad soap opera.

Then, Betty had taken on the challenging task of helping him with his Christmas shopping. It was something that he was reluctant to do until Betty showed him how fun it could be.

Okay. So, perhaps, it took him buying every single piece of lingerie in her size to get him into the mood for shopping. Once he was done though, he went on to pick out every single gift for every member of their family personally. He even wrapped all of them- _not __well_- but he wrapped them. Betty only helped him once when he got into a battle with the tape.

Now, all the gifts were underneath the Christmas tree, waiting for their recipients to arrive. The table was set perfectly. Betty had fussed over it for three hours last night, in the midst of the meal preparations for Christmas Day.

They had enough food for ten people but now there wasn't anyone that was coming. Not that it was their fault; the weather was no cooperating with Betty's plans.

"Betty, I brought the last two boxes up to the bedroom and made some room in the closet for you." Daniel came down the stairs and saw Betty sitting on the couch in front of the fire. The Christmas tree lit up in the corner.

"Okay. I'll be right up." Betty just stared into the fire.

"I didn't say you had to do it now. Unpacking can wait," said Daniel, as he settled in beside her on the couch. "I think cuddling up with my fiancée is a better way to spend Christmas." He pulled his arm around her, as she moved closer.

"Yeah." She looked up at him and then placed her head on his shoulder.

"I'm really glad that you are here with me." Daniel kissed her on the top of the head.

"Me too."

Daniel couldn't believe it when Betty agreed to move in with him on the night of their engagement. After dinner, they went straight back to her apartment where she packed all her clothes and necessities and brought them back to his house. They would go back after the new year to pack the rest.

"I'm sorry that everything didn't go the way that you planned it. I know you were trying to plan the perfect Christmas for all of us." Daniel said sincerely. "Hopefully, they'll be able to make it over here tomorrow because there is no way that we can eat all that food."

"That would be great. I hope so….but actually, the more I think about it. I'm glad that it turned out like this," said Betty. "I like that it's just the two of us."

"I couldn't agree with you more. Sometimes, it's the unexpected things in life that bring you the most pleasure," said Daniel. In his tone, he knew that there was a hint of flirtation but he truly meant it in all seriousness. "I mean, look at you making all these plans for the perfect Christmas. I'm sure that you never planned on falling in love."

"Well…" Betty giggled and looked up at him. "Uh…I…"

"What?" Daniel's eyes met hers.

Betty bit her bottom lip. "Well, I don't know about that."

"What? What do you mean…you don't know about that, Betty?"

"I have a little confession to make. Well…it's not really a confession," said Betty. "Do you remember how Jackson mentioned that it was pretty obvious that I was in love with you?"

Daniel did vaguely remember something about that, among the confusion the night of her office Christmas party. "Yeah…kind of."

"Well a few days before Jackson dumped me for Brandy, he accused me of being in love with you. At the time, I thought he was crazy. I mean, it was impossible that I could be in love with my best friend."

"I can understand that feeling." Daniel listened carefully.

"After he took off with Brandy, I had some time to think and realized that he might actually have been right. Then, I was on my way to see you when I picked up my mail and got the Christmas card photo of the two of us. Seeing that photo of us just did something to me, Daniel. I knew that I had the needed to test the theory. So…my offer to you wasn't entirely without a motive."

She took a deep breath. "I hope you aren't mad, Daniel. I just…"

He brought his fingers to her lips and then along her cheek. "No…of course. I'm not mad. One of us had to do something. To be honest, I've been in love with you since your sister's wedding and for the first time in my life, I had no idea how to show you. I was afraid if I showed you then I could lose you and I just couldn't handle that."

"Well, I guess now it makes sense why you were trying to keep Henry away." Betty said playfully.

"Or any man….I can tell you that I hated Jackson. He never was good enough for you," said Daniel.

"Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore." Betty reached up to get him a soft kiss and placed her left hand on his chest. The diamond shined against the lights from the Christmas tree.

"I'm so glad that you are willing to take chance on me and marry me." Daniel said proudly.

"The sooner the better, I think we've wasted enough time."

"Well, I'm sure that Nana could still get that judge. You know she's a genius when it comes to impromptu weddings." Daniel suggested. "We could be married as soon as your family gets back."

"Daniel…that's crazy."

"I don't care when I marry you, as long as I do." Daniel said plainly.

"I do." Betty said affectionately. She held up her hand up and gazed at her engagement ring and then looked at him. "Do you want to know the moment that I knew I was in love with you?"

"That amazing kiss at your office party when I was trying to prove to Jackson that we were really a couple." Daniel grinned. He got chills just remembering the way it made him feel.

"That was great." She said sweetly. "But that wasn't it."

"Then what was it?" He asked curiously.

"The moment that I knew that I was in love with you….and I was pretty sure that you were in love with me too was when you put on that reindeer sweater and went out in public." She started laughing uncontrollably. "You were so adorable and the looks that we both got. It was something that I'll always remember."

"Oh…is that a fact? Daniel chuckled.

"Yes, it is." Betty smiled as she tried to calm herself.

"Well, I think you still owe me for that. You never did wear that elf outfit that I bought you."

Betty hopped up and held out her hand. "Well, I guess it's a good thing that Christmas isn't over yet."

Daniel quickly rose from the couch, took her hand. They smiled at each other and headed upstairs.

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